Between The Lines
by luisa015
Summary: Someone from Horatio's past returns causing Horatio to seek out comfort from an unlikely place. Horatio?, HoratioSpeed. Slash
1. Chapter 1

_...Horatio...Horatio...Horatio..._

Sitting up in bed, Horatio woke to the sound of his name being called. When he looked around his bedroom he noticed he was alone, and realized it was just another one of his dreams. Shaking his head to rid himself of the feelings the dream brought on, he felt his body was wet. Looking down he saw that he was covered in sweat, and started walking toward the bathroom to take a shower.

He came out about fifteen minutes later with a towel around his waist and water still dripping down his chest. Glancing at his alarm clock he saw that it was 5:00 in the morning and knew he should probably take his morning run. He decided against it since he just took a shower and would be sweaty again if he ran. Turning toward his closet he picked out a black suit with an orange striped black button down shirt.

Just as he was finished making his coffee, the silence of his house was interrupted by the sound of his cell phone ringing. Not bothering to see who it was he answered and was greeted with the sound of Frank Tripp's voice.

"Horatio, it's Frank."

Seeing as it was 5:45 in the morning, Horatio answered, "Frank. It's a little early isn't it?"

"Uh yeah. I'm sorry if I woke you, but I found something out late last night and was wondering if you wanted to grab some breakfast before our shifts start. Whaddya say?"

He was a little surprised hearing the tone of his voice, but Horatio knew that if Frank needed someone to listen, he certainly was not going to let him down.

Placing his badge and ID on his belt and picking up his keys, he headed toward the door saying, "Sure thing. Where would you like to meet?" Hearing the place where Frank wanted to have breakfast, he froze after shutting the door.

His throat going dry he asked, "Could you repeat that please?"

* * *

After parking in front of the meeting place, Horatio got out of the Hummer and looked around for the detective. In the midst of searching for Frank, he looked at the building he was standing in front of. Why had Frank asked to meet him here?

Hearing the sound of feet against gravel, Horatio turned around and looked as Frank approached him from his car. Shocked, Horatio then realized that Frank's car was parked beside the Hummer. How had he not noticed the sedan when he parked? Was this location getting to him that much?

Frank looked up and saw the look of surprise in Horatio's eyes. He realized that Horatio didn't know that the sedan was already parked when he pulled in. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea, he told himself. They should've just went to the diner like he originally planned the day before. But when he discovered the news last night, he knew that he had to get Horatio away from familiar surroundings.

Walking toward Frank, Horatio put on his sunglasses as the sun was finally shining brightly. He was still trying to figure out what made him choose this building when Frank suddenly stopped walking and just stared at Horatio.

"Alright Frank. You want to tell me what's going on?"

Looking down at his feet, he began to talk. "Horatio, I found out something yesterday and they thought it best if I was the one to talk to you about it."

"Who's 'they' Frank?"

"Ummm. Well... 'they' as in Internal Affairs." He couldn't bring himself to look at Horatio's reaction. He just stood there looking at his feet scuffing against the ground. It wasn't until he heard Horatio take a deep breath that he finally looked up and saw that he had removed his sunglasses and was moving them back and forth between his hands.

"Internal Affairs, huh? That's interesting." He turned his back to Frank now in order to process what he was just told. Internal Affairs had something on him, his team or both; and they had Frank be the one to tell him. What was going on? And why did he have to come to this building of all places?

He figured he might as well hear what was to be said and get it over with. Turning and forcing Frank to look him in the eyes he said, "Alright Frank. What is it? Stetler finally find something to stick?"

Taking a deep breath, Frank thought it was best to just tell him straight out.

"Horatio, it's about Yelina."

* * *

Back at the lab Tim Speedle was looking through a microscope at the fibers he pulled off a dead body about an hour earlier. It was supposed to be his day off, but Calleigh had called him and said that Horatio was out in the field already with Frank working on another assignment. Eric was already on a case, so she needed Tim to come in and help them out.

The victim was a teenage girl who was struck with what was found to be a brick. Calleigh was in the midst of processing it, gathering all the DNA and evidence she could.

Looking up from his work, he saw that Calleigh was heading toward him with a file. As she walked into the room, he heard her say something about a confession.

He must've zoned out because he needed her to repeat what she just said.

Calleigh sighed. "Tim, what is wrong with you today? I just said that the girl's boyfriend just called the police and confessed to killing our girl. They just brought him in and he has her blood all over him. He also has scratches that must be from the brick he used to hit her with." She noticed he was looking over her shoulder at nothing and snapped her fingers in front of his face.

"Earth to Tim? Hello in there?"

Snapping out of it, Tim shook his head and apologized. "I'm sorry, Calleigh. I don't fell well today. Um. That's great about the confession. Do you want me to handle the interrogation and get his statement?"

"No, that's okay. I can do it. Why don't you go to the break room and get some coffee and maybe even lie down for awhile. I'm pretty sure he did it, so I can deal with the paperwork for you."

"I can't let you do my work for me. I'll just go grab a soda and start in on my paperwork. Okay?"

Trying to read the expression in his eyes, Calleigh finally said, "Okay, Tim. I'll come and let you know what I find out."

With that, she turned and walked out of the room toward interrogation.

Tim turned his attention back to the fibers. Even though it now seemed as though the case was going to be open and shut, he still needed to finish analyzing the evidence so that the case would be stronger and held up in court.

Two hours later and the case was finished. The boyfriend knew every detail of the murder and the evidence backed his story. Calleigh just finished getting his statement and was on her way over to tell Tim.

"Hey Tim! He did it! That scumbag told me everything and he doesn't even regret it. Can you believe how horrible people can be to one another?"

Taking his lab coat off and heading toward the locker room, he turned his head and said, "That's great, Calleigh. Good job."

Confused at Tim's response, Calleigh stood there watching as he slowly made his way to the locker room. What is wrong with him today?

* * *

Horatio stared at Frank in disbelief. Yelina? How the hell is she involved in anything? She's been gone for over a year, and now she's involved with IAB?

Trying to remain calm Horatio asked, "What about Yelina, Frank?"

Avoiding Horatio's intent gaze, Frank turned and looked at the building they were standing in front of. How could he be so stupid as to bring him here? This was the building where that damn tweaker Darwin was murdered by Chaz. It was also the beginning of a stressful time where Horatio learned more about his dead brother than he maybe had wanted to.

Horatio saw that Frank was trying to stall the conversation by looking at the building. He found he didn't care where they were anymore. After hearing Yelina's name for the first time in awhile, Horatio just wanted to know what the hell was going on.

"Frank, I know what you're trying to do here. Stop stalling, alright? I don't care where we are. Now, I am willing to listen to everything you have to say. What does Yelina have to do with IAB?"

Turning toward him, Frank tried to determine how best to tell him. Taking a deep breath Frank said, "Alright, Horatio. No more bullshit, 'kay? I'll tell you the whole story."

Frank proceeded to tell Horatio everything. He only hoped that after he was done, Horatio would not think he had betrayed him; though he knew if it was the other way around, he might not be able to be forgiving.

* * *

Slamming the locker shut, Tim headed for the showers. He felt dirty and wanted to feel the hot water relax his muscles.

Letting the water run down his body, he stood there surrounded by the steam which had started to form about an hour earlier. His brain was going haywire with all his thoughts running around. There was nothing he could do to ease his mind, and because of that he felt helpless.

As the water turned cold, he sighed and stepped from the shower, grabbing a towel and securing it loosely around his waist. What he saw as he headed toward his locker stopped him in his tracks.

After his "meeting" with Frank, Horatio saw that it was time to head to work. He walked into his office and was met with a picture of Yelina and Ray, Jr..

Shaking his head, trying to rid himself of the things Frank had just finished telling him, Horatio needed to be alone. He was never alone in his office because the walls are all made of glass. He decided to head toward the locker room and maybe take another shower. No one should be there now since it was time that his team should already have begun their shifts.

Making his way down the halls, Calleigh walked by and said good morning. Barely glancing up, he nodded and continued down the hallway.

Great, she thought to herself. First Tim is acting strange, and now Horatio? Is it a full moon? Shrugging her shoulders she turned and headed toward her ballistics lab.

Once Horatio entered the locker room, he realized he was too tired to even get undressed in order to take his shower. He sat down on the nearest bench and put his head in his hands, thinking about the events of that morning.

He didn't even notice the presence of someone staring at him in his vulnerable state.

* * *

Is that Horatio? What's wrong with him? And why is he in the locker room?

Tim was asking himself all these questions and didn't even notice that he was walking toward the huddled figure on the bench.

Once beside him, Tim placed his hand gently on Horatio's left shoulder, and began rubbing comforting circles with his thumb.

He knew he must've surprised him because Horatio's entire body tensed and jerked with the touch, although he didn't pull away. Instead he looked up into Tim's eyes with a questioning expression.

Tim tried to suppress his gasp when he saw the tears in the older man's eyes.

TBC...


	2. Chapter 2

1

Horatio couldn't believe how tired he was all of a sudden. It seemed as though everything was finally catching up with him. When he felt a warm hand on his shoulder, he tensed because he thought he was alone down here.

Looking up into the eyes of his trace expert Tim Speedle, Horatio couldn't form any words to explain what he was feeling. The thumb began to rub circles on his shoulder and Horatio found that he didn't want to say anything. He simply sat there looking up at the source of the hand.

When he finally did talk, he stood up and moved away from the comfort. He regretted it immediately when he saw that Tim didn't know what to do with his hand anymore.

"Speed...I..."

Tim noticed that Horatio didn't try to pull away from his touch, and he felt something deep in his stomach. He didn't know what it was, but he wished it would never go away.

Horatio finally stood up and he had to drop his hand since the shoulder was no longer there. He had no idea where to put his hand so he placed it on his waist.

It was only then that he realized he was still dripping wet from his shower, and was only wearing a towel loosely around his waist.

What's so bad about that? We're both adults. It's not like Horatio has never seen me without a shirt on before. Just last week we both were in here taking showers after arresting a pedophile whose house was filled with mold and dirt.

He looked back up at Horatio's face when he heard his name. He could tell he was trying to figure out what he was going to say, and Tim didn't want him to have to explain why he was almost crying. That would just make his boss uncomfortable and he knew he didn't need that right now.

Clearing his throat, Tim began to talk. "H, I didn't mean to disturb you. I didn't know anyone else was in here. I'll just get dressed real quick and leave you alone."

He began heading to his locker when he saw the look on his boss's face. It was part relief, and part pleading? Okay, now I'm just going crazy. He wants to be left alone, that's all.

He gathered his clothes from his locker and started walking toward the bathroom stalls so he wouldn't have to get dressed in front of Horatio.

The feeling from his stomach was only getting stronger, and Tim was beginning to get worried.

Standing in front of Tim, Horatio was scolding himself in his head. Why did I do that? Why couldn't I just stay sitting and tell him what's on my mind? At least stay and feel his hand trying to offer comfort. Stupid. That's what I am. Stupid!

"Speed...I..." What do I say? He doesn't care about my problems. I'm his boss and I shouldn't be thinking about myself right now.

That's when he saw that Tim wasn't wearing any clothes. Just a towel around his thin waist. So what? What does that have to do with anything?

The sound of a throat being cleared made him look up from Tim's chest to his eyes. He apologized for disturbing him and he was going to get dressed and get out of his way. Why did his chest hurt when he heard that?

He doesn't want to be alone right now. How do you tell someone that without sounding like a child?

Wiping his eyes, oh my God, he saw the tears in my eyes didn't he?, Horatio watched as Tim picked up some clothes out of his locker and turned heading to the stalls. Most likely going there so that he wouldn't have Horatio watch him get dressed.

Before he could stop himself he called out to the other man. "Speed."

Tim froze and slowly turned around and looked him in the eyes.

"You don't have to go. I need to go back upstairs and catch up on some paperwork. You didn't disturb me either. I was just thinking for a moment and this seemed like the perfect place since no one is usually here this time of day. Anyway...you can stay and get dressed. Don't let me interrupt you. I'll see you around."

He turned around to go to the door, and looked over his shoulder and said, "Oh. I heard that today was supposed to be your day off. I want to thank you for coming in. I had some...business to...take care of with Frank. I'll make it up to you soon."

With that he walked through the door and headed up toward his office.

"Speed."

That one syllable, so simple yet so sad, made Tim stop walking toward the stalls. He turned around and saw Horatio trying to think of something to say.

He told him not to go and that he wasn't interrupting anything. Why did that hurt?

Horatio turned and walked away, but before leaving he thanked him for coming in on his day off and he would make it up to him soon. He felt a flicker of something in his chest and had to force himself not to grin like an idiot.

When the door shut behind him, Tim couldn't help but think of what he said about his business with Frank. There was definite hesitation on his part about that. Hmm. Maybe he should talk to Frank and ask what that was about.

He started for his locker this time and got dressed as fast as he could. He still had some paperwork to finish up. It could wait until tomorrow, but since he was here on his day off, he might as well get it over with.

Thinking of Horatio, he smiled. Why was that?

Frank sat at his desk staring at his computer screen. He kept thinking about Horatio's reaction to the news he told him that morning about Yelina and Internal Affairs. He probably hated him now. Great, that's just great. I only have a few friends, and Horatio is most definitely one of them.

He heard a chuckle behind him and saw Eric Delko laughing over his shoulder. "Doing very important police work, Frank?"

He looked at where Eric's eyes were and saw this his computer was off. Sighing he flipped the switch and the machine whirred to life. Giving Eric one last glare, he turned back to staring at the screen.

Coming around to sit in the chair beside the desk, Eric looked worriedly at Frank. "Is everything okay? You seem pretty distracted this morning."

"I'm fine, Delko. It's just that this morning didn't help begin my day in a good way. That and the fact the wife is hounding me to work less hours. I'm just not in the most talkative mood, alright? Is that good enough for you? If it is, I really need to get back to my 'very important police work.'"

Eric put his hands up in surrender and stood up. "Whatever you say Frank. I'm sorry if I bothered you. If you need to talk, I'm here. Or better yet, talk to Horatio. It seems no matter what the problem is, that man can make anyone feel better."

When he saw the glare that Frank was giving him, he wondered if he said something wrong. "Okay then. I'll see you around." With that, he walked away and out the door to the Hummer, wondering what the hell was wrong with Frank.

Horatio sat at his desk staring at his picture of Yelina and his nephew. Where did those days go? Did they just disinigrate after his brother was killed? Why couldn't he have a normal life, maybe even be happy? Is it his punishment for not helping his brother?

He was tore from his thoughts when he heard a knock on his office door. "Come in."

The door opened and revealed Calleigh with a worried expression on her face. "Horatio do you have a minute?"

"Sure thing, Calleigh. Come sit down." He stood up and motioned toward the couch against the wall. He proceeded to sit on the corner of his desk waiting for her talk.

"Is something wrong?" His mind began thinking of different scenarios, all of them including her father and alcohol.

Shaking her head, she pushed her hair behind her ears and looked up at her boss. "I know what you're thinking. My father is fine, and so am I. This has nothing to do with either of us."

He couldn't help but exhale a breath of relief at her words. "Alright. Tell me what's on your mind."

"Horatio, I think something's wrong with Tim. He's been acting strange all day, and he didn't even seem to care that we broke the case I brought him in on in less than 24 hours."

Tim? She's worried about Tim. He did seem a little down when he was in the locker room. "I don't want you to feel uncomfortable, but I would like the truth, okay Calleigh? Is it affecting his work?"

She looked up at him with wide eyes and didn't answer.

Nodding, he understood. "Okay. Don't worry about this, alright? I'll talk to him and see what this is about. Now go relax and get back to work, okay?" he asked with a smile.

Standing up, she looked him in the eyes and said, "Thank you, Horatio. You know if I thought I could do something, I would. It just seems like he's shrinking into himself." Sighing, "I don't know how to explain it."

"It's alright. Thank you for coming to me, you know I'm willing to listen. And I also wanted to apologize for coming in so late this morning."

"You don't have to apologize." She gave him her bombshell smile. "You're the boss, remember?"

With that she turned and left his office. He shut the door behind her and looked out at his lab. What he saw startled him.

Tim Speedle was standing in front of a desk looking straight up into Horatio's office with an angry expression.


	3. Chapter 3

As Calleigh walked into the lab, she noticed Tim staring up into Horatio's office. He looked pretty angry. "Tim, are you okay?"

Moving his eyes to look at Calleigh, Tim nodded his head yes and turned around to sit on the nearest stool. He sat there and his head hung low so his chin was against his chest.

"That's it!"

Tim looked up startled at Calleigh's yell. "What's it? What are you talking about?"

"You know exactly what I'm talking about. First you don't even have a reaction to the case being closed so quickly this morning. Then I find out from Paula that you placed the evidence you collected into one of Eric's open cases. Now you're giving Horatio a death glare for who knows what reason! Now tell me what on earth is going on with you."

"...I...can't. I'm sorry." He stood up and walked out of the room.

Calleigh sighed. I really hope Horatio can help him. He needs someone to talk to.

* * *

Eric was walking by when he heard Calleigh yell. He waited until Tim slowly moped out of the lab before he walked in to see what that was all about.

"Hey Calleigh. Is everything okay with you and Speed? I heard you yelling."

Looking up from the floor, Calleigh just gave Eric a lopsided grin. "Oh yeah. Everything's just peachy. Tim's acting all out of whack and won't talk to me. Just now he was staring at Horatio as if he wanted to kill him. I don't know what's wrong."

"I'm sure it's just him being moody and tired. You know how he gets, especially since today was supposed to be his day off."

Calleigh shook her head. "No, I don't think so Eric. I found out that he misplaced evidence. This is starting to affect his work, and Tim never lets that happen."

Hearing all of these things about Tim, Eric wondered if he should say something about Frank to Calleigh. Maybe they're connected in some way.

"Hey Calleigh. There's something I want to talk to you-"

The sound of Eric's cell phone ringing interrupted his train of thought. "Delko," he answered. "Oh hey Alexx." Eric waved bye to Calleigh and started walking down the hall toward Horatio's office. "What do you mean he's not answering? ... Alright I'm walking toward his office now. Hold on, okay?"

Eric knocked on the door and waited for a response.

* * *

After hearing Calleigh yell at Tim, Horatio turned back toward his desk. He didn't want to eavesdrop on his own team. That was below him, and he vowed he would never get in their business if they didn't want him to.

Sitting back down, his mind went back all those years ago when life was much simpler and Raymond was still alive.

_Horatio was finishing up the dishes from his dinner when the doorbell rang. Drying his hands on a dishtowel, he walked toward the door and asked who it was._

"_Yelina," came the reply._

_When he heard the answer, he hesitated before answering the door. What was she doing here? She was supposed to be out having dinner with Raymond. He had told Horatio that tonight was the night he was going to propose._

_Opening the door, he came face to face with the woman whom he always had some feelings for. He used to wish that he had met her first. Maybe then it would be him proposing, instead of his brother._

_Shaking his head of those thoughts, he opened the door wider and motioned for her to come in, giving her a grin. She walked past him and he got to smell a little of her perfume. Breathing deeply, he shut the door quietly and turned toward his future sister-in-law._

"_What can I do for you, Yelina?"_

_All he heard was her whisper "Horatio" before she started to slowly approach him._

The sound of a knock on his office door made him return to the present. "Yes?"

Eric walked through the door with his phone held up to his ear. He mouthed "Alexx" and pointed at the phone.

Horatio nodded and picked up his phone, gesturing for Eric to tell her he was going to give her a call.

Horatio dialed the number and watched Eric leave his office. "Horatio?"

"Good afternoon, Alexx. Is everything alright?"

"Is everything alright? Why don't you tell me? I've been trying to call you for the past ten minutes."

Horatio rubbed his face with his hand. "I'm very sorry, Alexx. I must've got caught up with paperwork. Is there something you needed?"

"Well, Timmy just came to see me and he was pretty upset. I'm not trying to get in your business or anything, but I just wanted to ask if you could tell him to go on home and get some rest. He looks as though he's sleeping standing up. I'm starting to worry about him, Horatio."

Two trusted members of his team are concerned with Tim? Something must be going on. He stood up and put on his suit jacket. "Alexx, where is Tim now?"

* * *

He had almost made it to the locker room when his phone rang. "Horatio."

There was a scene where he was needed, so he changed direction and headed toward the parking lot. It looks like his talk with Tim was going to have to wait.

He pulled up to the scene and looked for Frank, since he was the detective who first arrived. He saw him standing at the far end of the lot apparently taking someone's statement. He located the body and walked toward it.

Alexx was already leaning over the body when he arrived. She barely glanced up before she told him what she presumed to be the cause of death.

Frank walked up behind Horatio and cleared his throat. Telling Alexx he would see her in post, Horatio turned and went over to Frank. "So what do we have?"

Looking down at his notepad, Frank replied, "Well not much. We have about five different eye witnesses all with different stories." He took a deep breath and ran a hand over his head before continuing. "Besides that, the victim is ID'd as a Veronica James, 24; address out near the glades."

Horatio nodded listening to Frank continue to tell him about the victim and the different versions of what happened as told by the witnesses. He let his gaze wander over the lot and the police cars and the yellow tape. There's no such thing as a normal day in Miami.

When his gaze traveled back to Frank, he saw a look in the other man's eyes. What was it? He looked...scared almost. "Frank, are you alright?"

"Horatio, I can't even begin to think how you must be feeling right now."

"Well, I'm thinking that I'm going to have to go and take a look at Veronica's house to see if she was taken. Then we'll see."

Frank sighed. "That's not what I-"

"I know that Frank. And I don't want you to worry about that right now, okay? We can discuss it later if you'd like."

Nodding, Frank said, "Sure thing, Horatio. I'd appreciate that."

"It's not a problem. I'm going to grab Eric and head over to her residence. You hang in there, okay?"

"Yeah."

Horatio walked toward the Hummer and pulled out his phone, calling Eric and telling him to meet him at the victim's residence.

* * *

Horatio and Eric entered the house, guns drawn. They didn't know if there were any surprises waiting for them, so they knew they had to be careful.

Once they determined the house was empty, Horatio and Eric met up in the living room. "Alright Eric. Let's get started."

Eric nodded and knelt down to open his kit. He proceeded to take pictures of the obvious signs of struggle.

Kneeling down, Horatio answered his phone which had started to ring. "Hora- yes, this is Lieutenant Caine...Yes...Okay, where?...I'll be right there."

He clicked his phone shut and looked up at Eric. "I...uh...I have to go. Can you finish up here?"

"No problem, H. I'll call you, let you know what I find out."

"Thank you Eric." He walked out to the car, already getting a bad feeling.

* * *

"Calleigh, you got a minute?"

Taking off her safety goggles, Calleigh turned around. "For you, I have five."

Alexx smiled at the other woman, and sat down on the stool in front of her. "It's about Timmy."

Calleigh widened her eyes in surprise. "You mean you've noticed, too?"

"Honey, it's difficult not to. He came down awhile ago and he wasn't acting like himself."

"Part of that might've been my doing."

Shocked, Alexx said, "Calleigh! What is that supposed to mean?"

"I saw how depressed he was acting and it was starting to mess up his work. I kind of snapped and I wanted him to tell me what was bothering him." Calleigh sighed. "I could tell he wanted to say something, but then he just left. That must've been when he went to see you."

Alexx nodded. "I didn't know what to say to him. He didn't say anything except that he was tired. I even called Horatio to send him home." Alexx chuckled, "Now Horatio is another story entirely."

Calleigh looked up. "What do you mean? I was forced to talk to Horatio about Tim, and he said he would deal with it. You don't think Horatio's going to ignore this, do you?"

"Oh no honey, nothing like that. It's just...oh nevermind. I'm sure it's nothing. He has a lot on his plate right now."

Tilting her head, Calleigh shrugged. "Maybe it's just one of those days, you know?"

"I hope you're right." Standing up, Alexx clapped her hands together. "Alright. I have a date with two hungry children, so I'll see you tomorrow."

Calleigh smiled. "Of course. Have a nice night." She watched Alexx leave before heading in the opposite direction to clean up her work station.

I hope Tim's okay. And why did Alexx question Horatio? Calleigh laughed. Great, she thought. I'm turning into a gossip.

* * *

Tim was standing on a balcony outside the lab when his cell phone rang. Opening it up, he answered, "Speedle."

After listening to the person on the other end for a few moments, Tim interrupted. "I don't get why you had to call me again. You just called a little bit ago. You pissed me off enough now one of my coworkers thinks I'm going crazy!"

He actually had to hold the phone a few inches from his ear to relieve the loud sound of them screaming. "Alright already! How about this? The next time you want to talk to me, you come see me in person." After a moment of silence, he said, "What? Doesn't sound like a good idea? Then get off my back. I'll call you later, okay?" Without waiting for a response, Tim hung up the phone and began walking down the stairs toward the parking lot.

Maybe I'll just drive around for a few minutes to cool off. Then Calleigh can get in my face and business all she wants.

He nodded, thinking that was the thing to do, and headed toward his Ducati. He knew once he returned, he would have to return that phone call and apologize. Maybe then he could go home, take Alexx's advice, and get some sleep. He sighed. What a great day this turned out to be.

TBC...


End file.
